Hello fellow students of ENGL 372!
I’m very excited to learn alongside each and every one of you this semester. Before I dive into what I look forward to and expect out of this course, here’s a brief introduction to who I am as a person and a student.
My name is Chase Thomson and I am a fresh fourth year UBC student majoring in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing (focusing on screenwriting.) When I’m not at school, I own and operate my own photography business called Chase Media. Photography has been a massive part of my life for the last ten years, so I feel it’s an important aspect to mention.
I’m very excited for ENGL 372 because I have never taken a literature course with a core focus on Canadian/Indigenous literature. I guess what I look forward to most is just experiencing this new section of literary work. In recent years, I believe that Indigenous rights have been brought forward in many Canadian’s minds and I am very eager to further my knowledge of Indigenous culture. Canada has been such a euphoric place for me to grow up in as a young, white male and I think I often was blinded by my privilege when it came to the historic wrongdoings against Indigenous people. While reconciliation in Canada is a long process with many ups and downs, I believe that, at the very least, more Canadians have become knowledgable of Indigenous history. Just briefly going through the course schedule and readings, I expect to even further my personal knowledge of Indigenous history and literature throughout this course.
Online courses can be rough for me when it comes to staying motivated so I’m really going to try to improve on that during this class. I look forward to engaging with each of you throughout this term!
Work Cited
“Our Story.” Reconciliation Canada Our Story Comments, https://reconciliationcanada.ca/about/history-and-background/our-story/.
grace owens
January 12, 2020 — 6:27 pm
Hi Chase!
I really enjoyed reading your first blog post, I feel like we have a lot of things in common from our major to our growing up in Canada. I, like you, am looking forward to this class to explore further themes and topics of indigenous literature and culture that I have grown up learning in Canada! I think this will be a very interesting course to truly immerse ourselves in the culture of the First People of Canada in a country that we both adore!
Your post, as well as our similarities, has me wondering a bit more about your experience with indigenous culture growing up in Canada. You mention the ups and downs of reconciliation in Canada and I wonder how you have experienced this in your previous education? When I was in grade 12, in 2016, the formal apology of reconciliation was recognized, which was celebrated at my high school with the raising of a totem pole, which I thought was a great gesture and really enjoyed the ceremony. Were there any large acts such like this while you were in school? I remember studying First Nations culture as early as grade 5, yet believe that it was grade 9 (2013) that I really started to see change within the Vancouver school system. Overall, I am curious about your history of Aboriginal culture and exposure before you came to UBC growing up in Canada and what concepts you hope to expand on throughout this course?
I look forward to continuing conversations with you and your response as personal experiences are very intriguing to me! All the best!
ChaseThomson
January 14, 2020 — 8:29 pm
Hi Grace! Funny, I just left a comment on your blog before finding your comment here!
That is really incredible that your school celebrated reconciliation being recognized by raising a totem pole. I was out of high-school in 2016, however, I’m really bummed out thinking back because I can’t think of any Indigenous education during my entire secondary education.
I’m sure it was briefly mentioned in Social Studies courses, however, it was never a large enough focal point for me to remember all these years later. Or perhaps I was too immature to really register how important it was to remember and appreciate. Either way, I’m very excited to make up for that in this course and begin learning about Indigenous culture and literature!
NicoleDiaz
January 14, 2020 — 8:30 pm
Hi Chase!
I think its super fun that you have your own business on top of doing school 🙂 Reconciliation in Canada is definitely a work in progress, since reconciliation itself means different things to different people. There are certainly a lot of different perspectives on Canadian Literature, and being aware of your own relationship to the writing is super important. In recent years, a lot of Indigenous authors have been published and their work is being shared across Canada, which as you mentioned is very important for everyone to know more about their history. I found it interesting to learn that not all Indigenous groups believe that Canada is honoring what they set out to do with the reconciliation. Theres a good article on: https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/what-reconciliation-is-and-what-it-is-not about what reconciliation is and is not. What do you think reconciliation means? Do you think Canada is doing (or trying to do) it right?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
ChaseThomson
January 17, 2020 — 12:48 am
Hi Nicole! Thank you for your comment. In my opinion, reconciliation is on the right track. I feel like the Government of Canada is beginning to recognize the historic and horrific treatment of Indigenous people (residential schools, etc.) However, I do believe that it could be better. I think more sources and funding for underprivileged communities are needed, and I believe that general stigma and bias needs to be erased by the police forces as well as the general public. This type of stuff takes time and, as I said, we are on the right track. There is still a long way to go, but I’m confident we can get there as a country!
Just came across this while writing this comment and I think it is a good example of my sentiment: Indigenous Mother wins 20k Against Police Force